The Ark
The Ark, also known as Installation 00, The Lesser Ark, and sometimes as The Waypoint, is a Forerunner installation that is part of the Halo Array. Unlike the Array itself, the Ark is located outside the Milky way Galaxy, out of range of the Halos and therefore in a safe zone. It is here the Forerunner-Flood war was ended when the IsoDidact activated the Halos approximately 100,000 years ago. It is currently possessed by the United Earth Government. Design The Ark is unique in its appearance compared to the other Installations. Instead of being a ring, it resembles a flower pedal, being a massive flat dish with a large hole in its center, and having 8 arms that branch out of this dish; 4 large and 4 small. The arms curve upwards slightly. The top surface is completely terraformed, resembling the environments on Earth and Installation 04 greatly. The Ark has many Oceans, Forests, Tundras and Deserts, but also includes several structures of Forerunner build for many different functions. The Ark, like the other Installations, has an artificial star. In the center of the Ark, within the hole of the dish, is a small planetoid which is harvested for construction purposes, mainly to make other Installations. History Ancient History The Ark is one of two constructs built long ago by the Forerunners; being the smaller of the two, it was the Lesser Ark, and the other was the Greater Ark, greatly resembling but dwarfing the Lesser Ark in size. The Greater Ark was destroyed, along with the original large Halos. The Ark was used by the IsoDidact to activate the Halo Array 100,000 years ago, defeating the Flood but also eradicating all life in the galaxy. The Galaxy was reseeded with survived specimens that were kept on the Ark. 26th century The Ark was eventually found by the Covenant Empire, who used the Portal on Earth to go there. Covenant Separatists and UNSC Forward Unto Dawn followed, and the Empire was defeated there. However, the Flood also made their way to the Ark, severely compromising the Installation's safety. It then began constructing a second Installation 04. The Ark then received damage when High Charity self-destructed, and was greatly damaged to the point of frailty when Installation 04-B was fired prematurely near the Ark, resulting in the Halo's destruction. The Ark was abandoned for a time. UNSC retrieval Eventually the United Earth Government went back to the Ark, and began reconstructing it, saving it before the Ark tore itself apart. It is now in possession of the UNSC, and holds an unknown number of UNSC personnel there, as well as a defensive battlegroup in orbit. Defenses The first line of defense against a Halo activation is in orbit where numerous Orbital Defense platforms and a sizeable UNSC fleet is stationed. Monitoring stations and weapons platforms capable of stopping ships in FTL are also present. Garrisons of UNSC soldiers are posted in and around the three activation towers and the citadel. Troops can move around quickly via a localized teleportation grid. Each tower is also guarded by sentinels and obstacles like hardlight shield doors to prevent intruders from entering/escaping. The last resort measure includes the destruction or firing of the Halo's if possible. Category:Location Category:UNSC Category:Forerunner